The European Union (EU), through the European Investment Bank (EIB), has agreed to finance an economic development program by the Turkish Union of Chambers and Stock Exchanges (TOBB). The one million euro grant ($876,000) will fund TOBB’s initiative to develop small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) in Turkey, reported Cumhuriyet .

Last December, EIB announced that it would lend Turkey €185 million ($166 million) for reconstruction works in central Anatolia’s Eskisehir province, devastated by the earthquakes in 1999. Of the that total, €110 million would go to the Eskisehir Municipality for the construction of a new light rail system (LRT) and the rehabilitation of amenities in conjunction with the Porsuk River that runs through the city. — (menareport.com)